Monday, July 29, 2013

Time to find out if Blogger has fixed its malfunctioning poll gadget. And what better time than the one event nearly every Champions team anxiously circled on the calendar at the beginning of the season after the new event-to-event relegation plan was announced. Bad enough to fall into the Challengers bracket but doubly to be avoided going into World Cup.
This time around the Champions bracket sees the return of the Russian Legion and first time Champion Top Gun. Given how evident the gap between the established pro teams and those who would join them really is I suspect the top vote recipient to be relegated will be Top Gun but after that it becomes, er, interesting.
While the Legion was the clear class of the Challengers they still must prove they can hang in the brutal and unforgiving competition of the Champions. And X-Factor and Infamous have staved off relegation twice. Vicious made a remarkable comeback to the Champions bracket in Chicago but the margin between success and failure is very small. Then there's the Ironmen who have recently cut LJ and seen Corey Bornstein leave the team at a crucial moment in the season. And while nobody expects any of the top 4 to falter it would only take one or at most two uncharacteristic losses to put any team into a fight to evade relegation.
Who will it be?

5 comments:

Should 'bubble' challenger teams (those likely to move up, but not stay up) strategically sandbag two events before cup, so they have the chance to win challengers the event before cup and move up for cup, rather than play champions the event before cup and move down?

I went ahead and didn't vote for Top Gun because i'd like to see them surprise people, though I still find it unlikely. Ironmen are having a lot of midseason drama which could hurt them, and X-Factor's been on the brink the entire season, so I can see either of those two having the dreaded result of being in the challengers bracket for Cup.

AnonI suppose if any of the Challengers believed they were strong enough to manipulate the bracket they might try but that would still leave them to contend with whichever teams were relegated too.What I think we are seeing is that all the Challengers are making their best effort to prove they deserve a shot at the Champions and they'll take it whenever they can get it.

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ABOUT

About Baca:
Baca Loco is the forum name I first used at P8ntballer.com and kept when I starting writing for PGi magazine, the late, lamented Paintball Games International. At various times I did gun reviews, event reports, the occasional feature, How-To’s & a monthly column entitled, View from the Deadbox. At one time or another I’ve done most everything you can do in paintball other than own a field or run a tourney series. For the last several years I have coached a number of pro teams and generally made a nuisance of myself whenever possible.

About VIEW FROM THE DEADOX:
One purpose of this blog is to encourage a dialogue about competitive paintball and permitting commenter anonymity is intended to encourage the participation of those who actually know what they are talking about. The rest of you are also welcome, even encouraged, to comment as well. (I don't really need any encouragement.)
The other purpose of this blog is to provide a focus for my attention deficit disorder and hold boredom at bay.

About my views:
Brilliant, visionary and almost always correct. Get used to it. Oh, and I'm humble too. Feel free to disagree as long as you are prepared to be wrong.

FAQ

How is paintball like golf? Golf is played outdoors on nice, well kept grass or, if something goes horribly wrong, off in the woods. Same with paintball.

How is a paintball made? What am I, Wikipedia?

Who are your sponsors? Who hasn't been one of my sponsors? I won't be trying to promote current sponsors on this blog nor will I take shots at non-sponsors. I don't give gun, goggle or gear advice so it really doesn't matter.

What's your view on cheating? It's wrong and has no place in the game. That's why I don't play scenario or Big Games.

What's your favorite marker? The free one.

Where did that awesome photo come from in the blog header? It is the work of photographer extraordinaire, Brandon Showers or the vixen with a Nikon (or maybe a Canon) Meagan Foster.

What's your favorite team? Grow up.

Who started the Rec vs. Tourney war? Some will say that's just the way it's always been. Others claim it's natural for the sides to be at odds. I say, aren't we all brothers under the goggles? I'm not sure but ask yourself who benefits? Follow the money. Could it be a covert plot of the Military Simulation Industrial Complex? As long as the war rages on there will be a demand for more paint, more markers and Big Paintball will continue to count its profits instead of the cost. Give peace a chance. That's all that I'm saying.

How do I get sponsored? You don't.

Will you send me any free stuff if I tell you what a big fan I am? No.

Is agg dead yet? Yes, it's time to move on to some new uber hip trendiness that everyone can follow to demonstrate their individuality.

Is it true the inside of Ollie Lang's gearbag smells like roses? No, strawberries and cream.